I've owned this restaurant for the last 6 years. I have seen and heard some pretty wild stuff from customers, sales reps and bill collectors. The majority of my customers tend to be on the redneck side of life which also brings a lot of amusement. Ask me anything guys!

Thanks guys! This was definitely fun. Really good questions overall and I enjoyed myself. This was my first time ever posting anything on the site and just registered today although I've been browsing the site for a while. Hopefully I helped a few of you with some tips. I'm outta here.

I've heard more than one exceptional BBQ chef complain that the "regionalization" of BBQ, where we pigeonhole different BBQ styles to different regions, has probably done more harm to BBQ than anything.

TL;DR I don't care where you are from KC, Memphis, Texas, Hoboken, Maui, Mongolia...if you think you have good barbecue I will try it.

I'm about a 3-4 hour drive from you. Take a little drive up here and try it for yourself sometime. At least that way you'll have fresh food as opposed to a UPS driver showing up at your door with a box of frozen food.

Thanks. Since I'm not a famous person I didn't have to deal with 5,000 comments and it made it a little easier to answer them. Lol. I'd rather not give the name but I'm located just outside of Nashville.

Don't boil them. Cook them slow on the grill around 300 degrees. Put them in a pan and add a marinade of your choice. I like to use an apple cider vinegar/water mix with a little seasoning thrown in. Then cover the pan and cook on the grill again till the meat falls off the bone.

Yes. The marinade will then boil through the meat making it very tender and flavorful. When you cover it with foil it keeps the steam inside and makes the meat fall off the bone. You can substitute the pan by just wrapping the ribs in foil and add marinade. Same concept either way.

1) I worked for another restaurant and learned it all from my time there. I made tweaks and adjustments to make it my own and opened up. From there I have tried new things and tested them on the human guinea pigs that walk in my door everyday. Patience and imagination as well. A lot of trial and error.

2) I don't want to answer questions about money. Sorry.

3) See #2

4) I've chosen my suppliers largely based on their customer service and personal loyalty to me. My food rep is in my restaurant on a weekly basis asking questions and will even deliver the food in his own vehicle if they screw up. That kind of service goes a long way.

5) The most common complaint is "I didn't like it" which I reply "Was something wrong with it?". 9/10 it's someone trying to get a free meal. It gets pretty old but you have to understand that's just people. It doesn't happen all that often but when it does you have to try to kill them with kindness. Never give money back unless it is a legitimate complaint where you screwed something up. Even then try to replace the food or give them store credit.

6) The restaurant business generally tries to hit a 300% markup but it's hard to do these days with the food cost constantly changing. It sounds like a lot but I assure other companies are a lot worse than that.

7) Food is by far the biggest cost.

8) I cater so my largest catering order would have been around $2,000. It's been a few years since then so I can't remember the actual ticket amount was. As far as a walk in customer it isn't uncommon for someone to spend $300+ on certain holidays.

9) I've met all of my short term goals as I had them set at 5 years. I set them a little conservatively so they weren't too hard to meet. My average daily sales is probably the one I'm most excited about. As far as long term goals I'm most excited about being a mainstay in the community and franchising out to other areas as well as having my sauces and seasoning in supermarkets.

10) My food is generally gone within 2 to 3 days tops. I try to cook today for tomorrow. Obviously customers dictate this though.

11) My trash can has to be clean. Let me say that again. MY TRASH CAN HAS TO BE CLEAN. I often ignore that one.

12) I could launder money I guess. Never thought of it mainly because Big Tony has never approached me.

13) Make sure you love what you do and are ok with the fact that it WILL consume your life. All of your friends and customers will think your rich and never understand what you go through so be prepared for that. HOURS.

14) People. Are. NEVER. Happy. You deal with food and money and those are the two things that people are most picky about in the whole world. You can't make everyone happy. Get used to it.

15) I have logged anywhere from 80 hours a week to as low as 25. It depends on the time of year more than anything at my restaurant.

This is not asking about your income really, I noticed you wanted to stay away from that. How much did you have to invest to actually start the place up?

The reason I ask is because I too cook for a living and a BBQ place is what I hope to open within the next 7-10 years. For the past 3 years I have been writing recipes and trying to perfect my BBQ. The side I have not looked into depth in, would be the initial costs.

I know I'm late on the AMA, but I was hoping to still get my question in :P.

Your initial costs will be first and last month lease assuming you're leasing. Licenses, food, deposits on utilities, supplies and equipment. Also you'll have to come out of pocket for any painting or renovating unless your landlord works that into the lease for you. Never underestimate how expensive this can be when done in one shot. Always overestimate the price of everything. Look for auctions of restaurants that have closed down. That's always cheaper than buying new and normally the equipment is still in good shape. Only buy what you need to start and try to keep it on the cheap side if possible and add things as you go. Also one of the most important things that I wish I would have done but, being that hind sight is 20/20 I didn't realize at the time, is dump a big chunk of money into advertising from the start. I believe it was the owner of JC Penny that said if I could do it all over again I would have spent $75 on advertising and $25 on merchandise instead of the other way around. I'm paraphrasing here but you get the point. Never, under any circumstance, underestimate taxes and payroll. They will eat you up quickly so try to keep payroll low and that will in turn keep your federal taxes low. Death and taxes my friend. Remember that.

I have never competed. By competition rules I would actually be disqualified since I cook my food until it falls off the bone. In competition that's considered over cooked. My customers don't seem to think that though. The competition committees are fascists.

Memphis in May is the big boy though. You pretty much have to be grandfathered in to compete. It's kinda like season tickets for the Cubs. You have to wait for someone to die to get in. Same people. Same food. Different year.

I went as part of team that my brother belonged to - and now that you mention it, I think they've participated for years. They've gotten better, but at the time it was all about the party. Having grown up on boiled ribs and store-bought sauce, it changed the way I look at bbq. I love those slow cooked ribs!

Shittier looking building normally equals lower overhead. Lower overhead generally equals more attention to detail with the food. So by that equation your father, as well as yourself, has been proven to be a smart man.

Except for this one time in Dothan, Alabama... This BBQ place looked liked shit, and like many places, it claimed to be world famous.... It was packed, so I thought it had to be good.... Food tasted like the place looked, horrible

One last thing. I do my best to cater to the individuals that come in but ultimately it's what I like with a happy medium thrown in there for the customers. This still doesn't stop the complaints or silly advice I get from them. People can really be the worst sometimes.

People are so different with their preferences on food and sauce is definitely one of those things. People like light sauce while others would drink it if they could. I've found that it's best to give it on the side and let them do it on their own. A happy customer is a repeat customer.

I prefer a dry style which is what I cook. That means all sauce on the side and none used during the cook process. That's what I'm partial to so that's what I cook. Others do it differently. I of course think they are wrong and their food sucks.

Don't under cook it is the obvious answer. Cook it until you have an internal temperature of at least 170 degrees and when you use you thermometer make sure it's not touching a bone as this will throw it off and give you an inaccurate reading. Cook it at a low temperature for an extended period of time. Don't check the grill every 10 minutes either. Leave it alone and let it cook. Go into it knowing that it's gonna take a long time to cook and it's gonna be worth it when it's done. Get your flavor that you want whether it's wood or charcoal and once it stiffens up, has a good golden brown color and doesn't have a rubbery feel to it take it off the grill and wrap it in foil. Make a bowl out of the foil with the turkey/chicken in it and then add whatever marinade you're partial to. Turn it a quarter of a turn and wrap it again. Make sure that the poultry is completely covered by the foil and return it to the grill. Cook it until the internal temperature is reached and/or until the legs start to separate from the body. It will be tender, juicy and full of deliciousness. You'll be the man/woman of the day!!

I actually don't use a rub or sauce when cooking. I cook the food on the grill and then take it to wrap it. When I'm wrapping it I add my marinade and wrap it one more time. Place it back on the grill until finished. It's a two step process and once it is being served to the customer I add my seasoning. All sauce is on the side.

I'm a small operation so Obama care won't effect me. I have 2 employees and I make up the rest of the time myself. Late night cooks and all. I can't personally see a reason why a business wouldn't want to offer insurance to their employees. It's not like the business has to pay for it.

Unless I'm mistaken it comes out of the employees check. I only have to offer it. I may very well be wrong on this considering that it doesn't affect me. I haven't really looked into it. That was my understanding of it but like I said I could definitely be wrong about that.

The employer pays whatever part he wants to and offers it as part of a compensation package. Because the employer gets to deduct the costs, thereby paying with pre-tax dollars, the same amount of money goes farther than if it was first given to the employee and the employee then used it to purchase health insurance. Since most people need to purchase health insurance, a good number of employers offer an arrangement whereby they pay some or all of it. But make no mistake: it's part of the employee's compensation. In the end, the employee is earning it and paying for it.

Usually the employer pays majority of it. My employer pays $12000 per year for my family health insurance, and my part is $1500 per year. This is why a good health plan is considered an important benefit when considering employment. I actually switched from a $77k job to a $70k job, just because the $70k job had much better health insurance.

I have a big grill. It was an underground fuel tank in it's former life. It's not a smoker though. There is a difference between the two. We use the direct heat method and only use hickory wood to cook with. I like hickory because it is heavy and burns for a long time especially if it's green. It's a very sappy wood and puts extra moisture in the smoke to help the cooking process as well. It gives good flavor and is in abundance in this area.

To elaborate further on the grill I can cook around 500 lbs of food very comfortably at any given time. This may help give you an idea of the size of the grill. It has two open fire pits on each side of the grill. As I said it's not a smoker but an actual grill. It's really no different than the charcoal grill you would use in your back yard as far as the way it cooks food. We just use wood instead of charcoal briquettes.

I've said it a few times and I'll say it again because of how important it is. Trial and error. I could tell you exactly how to cook it and my exact recipe but more than likely it wouldn't come out exactly the same plus it wouldn't be your recipe. I've put plenty of tips on here already on my cook process so you can scroll through and find them. It shouldn't be too hard to locate and I gave some tips on how to make your own sauce and rub too. Give those a look and good luck!

The most bizarre thing I've witnessed was two prostitutes fighting outside of my restaurant just for shear absurdity of it. It was about 9:00 at night and we were closed. I was here finishing some work and all of the sudden I hear a flurry of "bitches" being thrown around and I go outside to see one of them pounding the other's head on my sidewalk. Probably the craziest thing I've ever heard was from someone accusing me of slaughtering the pigs in my kitchen and how unsanitary that was.

2) I cook pretty much anything a customer brings me but as far as exotic I haven't done anything like that. Mostly deer or wild turkeys as far as different goes I guess although it's pretty common place here.

3) My stance is to each their own. If you like it that's great. If you don't like it that's great too. I don't have any crust/bark on my ribs because of the cook process that I use. As far as the butts I cook they do have crust/bark and to me that's the best part as it's where all of the flavor is IMO.

4) I like to chop up onions or peppers or both and mix them into the meat and then pat them out. Throw them on the grill at a low temperature and add cheese when they're done. Lettuce and mustard. Remember that the lower the temperature the juicier the food will be so they can get a little messy but totally worth it.

5) I've done pretty much everything I've wanted but chili. I haven't found a really good cost effective way for me to make it.

There's actually not a lot of love for hush puppies in this are. The only restaurant in the area that even offers hush puppies is Captain D's. Lol. I personally love them myself though. Also we don't deep fry anything in my restaurant. It's all done on the grill or in the kitchen. I know. No deep frying in a southern restaurant?

In a microwave TBH. If you cook it in the oven with no marinade and uncovered it will be pretty difficult to cut. See what I did there? You will absolutely ruin your steak if you cut into it to see if it's done. Use the "feel test". Most franchise restaurants use this technique. You can also use a meat thermometer to prevent losing the juices and flavor. Internal temperature of at least 160 degrees. Cooler for for medium and below. A steak can be a pretty difficult thing to cook for guests as usually they all like theirs at different temperatures. Pain in the but. Stick with burgers or chicken if you're grilling for multiple people.

I do not cook brisket. It's not a big ticket item in this area. Plus it's expensive meaning I'd have to charge more for it. People generally opt for the cheaper menu items so I'd end up throwing some of it away. Food waste is bad mmmkay? I've cooked it many times and like it personally. I cook it the same way I cook my pork. Slow cooked at a low temperature then removed from the grill wrapped, marinade added, wrapped again and then placed back on the grill till finished. It's good stuff. Especially when served with my gold sauce (mustard sauce).

You can start with another sauce and use it as a base. Mix in ingredients that you would like in your sauce. Once you get that to where you like it start to reverse engineer it so to speak and break it down. Then it's pretty much trial and error from there. Or you can go on the internet and try recipes that you find and then expand on them to suit your taste. You can also start from scratch and this will take A LOT of trial and error. It's fun though. Make sure you write down each recipe. Just adding one ingredient changes an entire recipe. Also if you're using any kind of a spice let the sauce sit for a day and then try it again. The sauce will make love to itself over night and come out a little differently the next day. If it's too spicy start stepping down your use of whatever spice you used until you get it right. Keep track of each recipe so you'll know what to take out or add. The same goes for seasoning salts and/or rubs.

When you smoke food on a grill there is a whole lot of set it and forget it considering how long the cook time is. As far as a crock pot I wouldn't suggest it but it can be done. Just drop the shoulder or butt in the pot and cook at a low temperature for a long time. It wouldn't be overly flavorful and it may not be extremely tender but it should be edible. Give it a shot. You never know.

Drop a 6-7 lb pork butt in a crock pot, salt and pepper it, slice an onion on top and add 1/2 cup of ginger ale or root beer. Leave it on low for 10+ hours and the bone will fall right out. Pull pork and toss with sauce in the crock and let it simmer another hour on low. Not as tasty as cooking it on a grill or in a smoker, but still tasty nonetheless and beats freezing your nards off in winter.

Oh . . . Where do I start? Lol. I had a drunk fella walk in one night and ordered a sandwich. When he got done eating he proceeded to tell me how to make my business a "hit". I indulged him and asked how. He tells me very emphatically that I needed to start selling hot dogs. If I sold hot dogs I would be a millionaire within a year. He grew up in Cincy and his family owned a hot dog restaurant and they became millionaires because of it. He was slamming his hand on my counter and spitting on me as he ramped up his stories of hot dog sales and the wild life he lived because of it. At one point he goes to slam his hand on the counter again and whiffs on it and face plants on the floor. He hops back up without skipping a beat and continues his story. He goes into all of the different kinds of hot dogs you can sell. He sounded like Bubba from Forest Gump rattling off all the different ways to cook shrimp. For the sake of time I'll leave it at that. You often get people's life stories and some of those are really good. Not to mention just the diversity of people you get in and the stories they have.

I live in Alberta, Canada and I've lived here my whole life. I've only been out of the country once in my life, and I was only 8 years old. Real authentic BBQ is one of the most amazing looking things that I've never tried, but have always wanted to. I've experimented with trying to make it myself, but I don't own a smoker, and I don't have the knowledge base to find that perfect spice rub mixture. I've made a few things that were pretty good, but I always feel like I'm missing out. Anyway I guess my question for you is, do you take for granted that you've been able to experience and create great bbq?

I never looked at it like taking it for granted but I'm sure I do. It's a very popular food item in the south and readily available whether it's a restaurant or a family recipe. It's a lot like sweet tea. In the south it's everywhere but you venture further north or west and people act like you're crazy if you ask for it. There's sugar packs on the table chief. LOL

1) I don't really have a typical food cost percentage. The food cost fluxuates so much and so often that it's hard to really know for sure. Sorry I can't help you there. I can say that it accounts for about 1/3 of my costs annually.

2) We don't serve burnt ends.

3) Pulled pork is the best IMO but I'm partial to it as it's so popular to my region. I was born and raised on pulled pork. As far as the side goes I love me some fried okra.

I totally understand that... I am curious because I would one day LOVE to open my own restaurant. Oh no... you gotta have some burnt ends man! I love pulled pork as well, even as a jew, hahaha. Let me ask you, how to you get the okra not to be so slimy? Is it the process of frying them? And thanks again for all the feedback! Awesome AMA

I don't actually offer okra at my restaurant but being from the south it is a popular side item at a lot of restaurants as well as a family thing that mothers and grandmothers make it on the regular. Deep fried is the way to go but you can fry it in a skillet as well. You can find it already breaded in most stores and just drop it in a deep fryer if you have one. As far as tips on frying it in a skillet goes I have no idea as I've never actually cooked it myself. I've only watched it being cooked. Lol. LOVE the stuff though!!! Wish I could be of more help on that. Sorry.

Experience would probably win out in that case. He's more than likely forgotten more about it than I even know. Lol. I'd give him a go though and hope that his experience would turn to arrogance and I'd take him down.

You can cut it but remember that it will shrink some as it cooks. So if you have to fold it in there it may shrink enough after the first cook that it will fit perfectly when you take it off and put it back on. A good way to cook the brisket is to leave it on until it gets a good dark caramel color to it. At that point take it off and wrap it in foil. Make a bowl around the meat and then add your marinade. You can use whatever kind of marinade you like. Fill up the foil about a quarter of the way and then wrap it again. Make sure it's completely covered with none of the meat being exposed. Place it back on the grill and continue cooking until it's so tender that you can't cut it with a knife because it falls apart. When you use this method you're basically boiling you marinade through the meat and it makes it extremely tender. For more bark leave it on the grill longer during the first cook.

Tried the fold once but it ended up not shrinking enough and cooking into a slight U shape. Last time I tried cutting and folding the thinner end onto itself which seemed to work better. I'll try browning it first and see how that works out, thanks.

A small family owned BBQ place opened up in a strip center near a pizza hut down the street from me. Their food was great, but I never saw that many folks in there. I guess the reason they are still running strong is the fact that it is family owned. How do I make sure when I order from them I get the freshest food? :)

I get my pork from my food distributor. I use the Boston Butt. They come two in a vacuum sealed package. 8 butts to a case. If you don't know what that is picture a big pot roast but pork. I cook them from start to finish in about 10-15 hours and sometimes longer depending on weather. Once they're finished we pull the bone out and pull them with tongs and serve to the customer. It's definitely not generic crap. Lol.

I've found that apple cider vinegar lends itself very well to pork. Hickory wood is what I like to use as well and they make for a very good tandem on pork and chicken as well. This tends to be a preference and if you asked 10 people you may get 10 different answers. Ultimately it comes down to what you like. Try different things and see what you like the most. In my experience wrapping the food and cooking it a second time makes the food so tender that the bone falls out of the meat and makes the most tender BBQ. Also cook it at a low temp for an extended period of time. Be patient and don't rush it.

What do you think the best option for a personal smoker would be? I've heard that the big green egg is good but at a lot of competitions i see people using what looks like giant oil drums with wood in it.

I use an old underground fuel tank myself. It's capable of cooking 500 lbs of meat at any given time. Really it's just a preference like so many other things when it comes to food. I've eaten food from the egg and it's good as well. If I had to choose though I'm going with my grill.

Awesome! How does one go about getting something like that? Did you do it yourself, i.e. Do you literally by an old fuel tank that you need to clean out/make acceptable for food prep? Or is there a company that specializes in doing that and then selling it as a smoker?

My friend and I have been talking about opening up a restaurant together for the past year. We probably won't do so for another 10-15 years (once we have worked another career and have the money to spare). My question is, how much money did you need to open up your restaurant? How far in the future we can open up depends on this and how early our careers start. We've both worked various customer service and restaurant/food jobs so we have been gathering some amazing ideas.

I found my former employer in a tough spot for money and we worked out a good deal on my location which was formerly his. He had closed it down a month before I bought the equipment and took over the lease. My situation was very different than most and an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. I don't feel comfortable putting my monetary details out there but I will say this. I purchased two grills, all of the equipment inside as well as tables and chairs for the price of a fairly newer used car. Like I said. Opportunity that I couldn't pass up. Lol.

I can imagine :). And I'm assuming you're talking about a fairly new, but used mid-range car and not a supercar, because then I'd be very sad. We're really hoping to make an awesome place. Bar and grill with lots of unique dishes (and we're going to brew our own beer!). Pool table/s and more. And of course BBQ.

Another question. What kind of education/experience did you have prior to opening your restaurant?

High school diploma. Years of experience in the business itself from a part time employee to running the restaurant as a manager before opening my own place. I knew the BBQ business inside and out by the time I opened my place. I was 26 years old at the time I opened my doors and I feel like I'm in my 50's sometimes now. Lol.

I'm not big on food shows. I have my own personally reality show everyday up close and personal. I definitely get my fill of it. I can't say one way or another anything about Slap Yo Daddy BBQ other than they have a cool name. I've never had their food or seen the way they cook it so I can't comment on that either. Sorry.

Would you want to go into a place that said "Not really all that famous worldwide but some people in this city like it"? It's just a selling point like convenience store saying they have the coldest beer in town.

Whats the best way to cook a Pork shoulder. Costco has some nice chunks of meat. I picked up a shoulder and cooked it in the over on 220 for like 6 hours. Good or should I have done something different?

Probably just rushing to get it out. I can't really speak for other restaurants but if I had to venture a guess I'd say that's the reason. With high volume of customers means a higher food cost and other over head. You have to cut corners somewhere or your profit margin will shrink and that, my friend, doesn't make good business sense.